Although the story revolves around the life, and more importantly the
death, of one of Europe's greatest composers, Amadeus is a memory
play, told from the perspective of Mozart's greatest rivals, Antonio
Salieri. Cursed with the ability to perceive greatness but never attain it,
Salieri's envy of the new young upstart composer is made manifest over the
course of three hours, culminating in Mozart's ruination and public
disgrace, all orchestrated masterfully by the Court Composer masquerading as
Amadeus's closest friend.

But what of Mozart's death? Was he, in fact, murdered, as they whisper
on the streets of Vienna decades after his passing? That is what Salieri
intends to divulge to his audience, the ghosts of the future he has invoked
for his final performance. The scene is recreated through the lens of
Salieri's mind, and he revels in the perfect, divine beauty of Mozart's
music even as he seethes over the idea that such an uncouth, irreverent fool
could create it, while he, Salieri, leads a life of virtue yet can never be
better than a mediocre composer at best.

The play is an examination of the life of an eccentric genius, for what
man who lives as everyone else can ever be able to create music that rises
above the norm? For all his apparent senselessness, the passion to create
perfection drives Amadeus beyond all else. He may have no qualms telling
anyone who will listen that his operas are the best ever written, but even
Salieri cannot dispute the fact. And, although the Pennsylvania Shakespeare
Festival's production is very good, it falls just short of the level of
genius Mozart was known for.

This is partly due to the characterizations of
Salieri and Mozart themselves, played by William Elsman and Steve Burns,
respectively. Although both men begin to capture the essence of their
roles, neither manages to fully explore the depths and complexities of the
men. Elsman's Salieri is, by turns, either declamatory or angry;
ironically, it is his work as the elderly composer that is more captivating
and real than his portrayal of Salieri in his prime. Burns nicely grasps
the intensity that drives Amadeus in both work and play, as well as his
physicality. He knows just how long to hold an irreverent pause to get a
laugh, but he does not quite develop the vulnerability that makes Mozart
sympathetic to the audience.

Still, Amadeus, under the direction of Dennis Razze, is a solid
production, if slightly tame, considering the wide spectrum of light and
dark moments the story undergoes. Of particular note is the excellent
scenic design of Will Neuert. The projections of the various locales on the
upstage wall combined with the floor cleverly built in the shape of a
stringed instrument provide a wonderfully metaphoric space upon which
Salieri's memories may be played out. And the funeral of Mozart, staged to
his own "Lacrymosa," is perhaps one of the most achingly beautiful burials
to be put on stage.

Amadeus ran through July 8 at the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival,
on the DeSales University campus. Tickets for the rest of the festival are available by
phone at 610-282-WILL, or online at www.pashakespeare.org. Ticket prices
$30-$41.